Type of Incident

Landmine incident.

Date of Incident(s)

4 March 2026

Incident Location

(Village, Township and District)

Ba--- village, Lay Tone village tract,[2] Moo special area, Moo Township, Kler Lwee Htoo District.

Victim Information

Name

Maung[3] H---

Age

33 years old

Gender

Man

Ethnicity

Bamar[4]

Marital Status  

Married (one child)

Occupation

Daily worker

Religion

Buddhist

Position

Villager

Village

Ba--- village, Lay Tone village tract, Moo special area, Moo Township, Kler Lwee Htoo District

Perpetrator Information (Armed Actors)

Name(s)           

Rank

Unit

Base

Commander’s Name

Burma military regime[5]

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

[Senior General] Min Aung Hlaing[6] [the Commander-in-Chief of Burma’s Armed Forces and the Chairperson of State Security and Peace Commission (SSPC)[7]]

1. Explain in detail how this information was collected.

Regarding this incident, a KNU [Karen National Union][8] coordinator of Moo special area told me [a KHRG researcher] that in his area, a villager was hit by a landmine which had been planted by the Burma military regime, and he was transported to Bb--- clinic, which is run by the KDHW [Karen Department of Health and Welfare],[9] so I [a KHRG researcher] went [to the clinic] and conducted an interview with the victim.

2. Explain how the source verified this information.

The people who provided the information to me [the KHRG researcher] are KNU authorities in that area, and some of them witnessed the incident when it happened. [The researcher also conducted an interview with the victim, Maung H---.]

Describe the Incident(s) in complete detail.

The villagers who live in Moo special area, Moo (Mone) Township, Kler Lwee Htoo (Nyaunglebin) District had to experience displacement and relocation because the Burma military regime conducted indiscriminate shelling and air strikes during January 2026. Maung H--- was also one of the displaced villagers from Ba--- village, Lay Tone village tract, Moo special area, who displaced in Bc--- village, Mya P’Go village tract, Moo special area.

On 4 March 2026, some of the displaced villagers from Ba--- village went back to check on their houses and take their properties that they left in the village. Maung H--- was asked for help to carry the properties, so he accompanied those villagers to help his friends. Four villagers, including Maung H---, went back, and when they arrived at Ba--- village’s entrance at 6:40 am, Maung H--- stepped on a landmine, and it exploded. Due to the explosion, both of Maung H---’s legs were hit and injured by mine fragments, and another villager [unknown name] was also hit by the fragments and sustained minor injuries on his bladder and one of his eyes.

Prior to the incident [in early January 2026], an unknown battalion of the Burma military regime had entered the village for a short time, before leaving again. After they went back, the local army, PDF [People’s Defence Force][10] and KNLA [Karen National Liberation Army][11] soldiers, checked the area, and they found the Burma military regime had planted a lot of landmines. They removed [some of] the landmines, but [some of] these were not gone yet. However, [the PDF and KNLA] allowed the villagers to go back because the villagers wanted to take the things that they left [their properties]. Therefore, [Maung H---] stepped on this Burma military regime landmine. The victim, Maung H---, said: “They [the PDF and KNLA] said: ‘It is not clear yet.’ They were not allowing the villagers to enter [into the village]. However, because the villagers were very hurried, they allowed [them] to enter and unfortunately, I got hit [by a landmine]. I stepped on [the landmine] after two people passed ahead [of me]. There were four people in total who went back [to the village]. […] [When the landmine exploded,] I went up into the air and the bag that I took with me flew away. After that, [the other people] phoned a village tract administrator. Then, he contacted the organisations [the KNLA and PDF] to rescue [me]. They also called a mine clearance team and they cleared [the landmines]. It took 30 minutes [to clear the landmines].”

After Maung H--- stepped on the landmine, his friends transported him to Bb--- clinic, which is located in Bb--- village, Kyaung Pyan village tract, Moo special area. Because he sustained a severe injury on his left leg, it was amputated at Bb--- clinic. He didn’t have to pay anything for the treatment or transportation costs. Regarding the other injured villager, he received treatment from a CDM [Civil Disobedience Movement][12] doctor in Ba--- village, because he sustained only minor injuries. After this incident, Ba--- villagers dared not to go back and take their possessions from the village anymore. Regarding Maung H---, he lost his left leg, and he could not work as before to earn a livelihood for his family members. At the time of the interview, Maung H--- had not been discharged from the clinic yet, but his leg injury was getting better. He hoped to get a prosthetic leg once his injury healed so that he could work to earn a livelihood for his family members.

The villagers in Moo special area must face livelihood, healthcare, and education challenges because the Burma military regime violated the [human rights of the] villagers by conducting shelling, drone strikes, and air strikes and entering the villages. 

Did the victim(s) provide permission to use this information? Explain how that permission was provided.

The victim [Maung H---], who provided the information, gave us [KHRG] full permission to use this information as needed.